Andy Williams
@llantwit.bsky.social
Welsh; trade union gobshite; #Spycops; interested in journalism; #bi 🩷💜💙+ #pan 🩷💛💙; #BWithTheT; Cardiff UCU media team; resistance is fertile 🌱✊
Reposted by Andy Williams
Morgan McSweeney is briefing that Keir Starmer's childhood racism was 'focused and efficient'
November 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Morgan McSweeney is briefing that Keir Starmer's childhood racism was 'focused and efficient'
Reposted by Andy Williams
“Being called a Paki isn’t hurtful?” asks Cyrus Oshidar, who was in Farage's year. He tells Guardian he recognises that it was “the language of that time” (1980). “He wasn’t the only one saying it. But he was the only one in Dulwich saying it regularly”, he says
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Three more ex-pupils at school with Nigel Farage reject ‘banter’ claims
Exclusive: Dulwich college contemporaries ‘rubbish’ Reform UK leader’s suggestion alleged racist taunts not intended to hurt
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
“Being called a Paki isn’t hurtful?” asks Cyrus Oshidar, who was in Farage's year. He tells Guardian he recognises that it was “the language of that time” (1980). “He wasn’t the only one saying it. But he was the only one in Dulwich saying it regularly”, he says
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Andy Williams
I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities.
Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Michael Gove Made Orwell Prize Judge Despite Record of Attacking Journalists and Dodging Scrutiny
Critics say "Orwell would have enjoyed the irony" of the former Conservative minister's appointment
bylinetimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities.
Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...
Reposted by Andy Williams
UK gambling industry made £15.6bn in 2024 (£16.8bn in 2025)
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
UK's Online Gambling Industry: The £3.8 Billion Tax Question Nobody's Answering
UK's online gambling industry generates £15.6bn annually but pays minimal tax. With £3.8bn in receipts, experts say it's time for reform Here's why.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:57 PM
UK gambling industry made £15.6bn in 2024 (£16.8bn in 2025)
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Reposted by Andy Williams
“Constant lying is not about making people believe a lie, but about ensuring that no one believes anything. A people who no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between good and evil: a people deprived of the power to think,”
Hannah Arendt.
Are we there yet?
Hannah Arendt.
Are we there yet?
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 AM
“Constant lying is not about making people believe a lie, but about ensuring that no one believes anything. A people who no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between good and evil: a people deprived of the power to think,”
Hannah Arendt.
Are we there yet?
Hannah Arendt.
Are we there yet?
Reposted by Andy Williams
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
Reposted by Andy Williams
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Reposted by Andy Williams
Removal of judge in Palestine Action ban legal challenge ‘deeply concerning’... so it looks like the classic British establishment stitch-up is underway. "This raises serious questions around the lack of impartiality and transparency in our judicial system" www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Removal of judge in Palestine Action ban legal challenge ‘deeply concerning’
Unusual last-minute change means panel of three will now hear case rather than Mr Justice Chamberlain
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Removal of judge in Palestine Action ban legal challenge ‘deeply concerning’... so it looks like the classic British establishment stitch-up is underway. "This raises serious questions around the lack of impartiality and transparency in our judicial system" www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Andy Williams
“exiting the market”
November 25, 2025 at 6:23 PM
“exiting the market”
Reposted by Andy Williams
Results are in for Iowa City’s two-year pilot of free public transit…
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Results are in for Iowa City’s two-year pilot of free public transit…
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...
Reposted by Andy Williams
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Andy Williams
I'm going insane because people constantly recommend using AI for things and it is always, ALWAYS worse than repeatedly bashing my head on a brick.
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
November 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I'm going insane because people constantly recommend using AI for things and it is always, ALWAYS worse than repeatedly bashing my head on a brick.
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
It's like you have an actual problem & all anyone recommends is "have you tried talking to my cousin? He drinks bleach & doesn't wash his pants"
Reposted by Andy Williams
The family of Jamar Clark unveiled a marble stone bench at the place he took his last breath. The bench unveiling came after an event commemorating ten years to the day that 24-year-old Jamar Clark was fatally shot by Minneapolis Police. [Video]
unicornriot.ninja/2025/jamar-c...
unicornriot.ninja/2025/jamar-c...
Jamar Clark's Family Unveils New Bench on 10 Year Anniversary - UNICORN RIOT
Jamar Clark's family unveiled a marble stone bench at the place he was killed by police on the ten year anniversary.
unicornriot.ninja
November 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The family of Jamar Clark unveiled a marble stone bench at the place he took his last breath. The bench unveiling came after an event commemorating ten years to the day that 24-year-old Jamar Clark was fatally shot by Minneapolis Police. [Video]
unicornriot.ninja/2025/jamar-c...
unicornriot.ninja/2025/jamar-c...
Reposted by Andy Williams
#TodayInQueerHistory
November 24 (1944)
Warholian superstar, muse and trans icon Candy Darling was born #OTD. She inspired lyrics to Walk on the Wild Side and could turning phrases and heads herself. She said
"You must always be yourself, no matter the price. It is the highest form of mortality."
November 24 (1944)
Warholian superstar, muse and trans icon Candy Darling was born #OTD. She inspired lyrics to Walk on the Wild Side and could turning phrases and heads herself. She said
"You must always be yourself, no matter the price. It is the highest form of mortality."
November 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
#TodayInQueerHistory
November 24 (1944)
Warholian superstar, muse and trans icon Candy Darling was born #OTD. She inspired lyrics to Walk on the Wild Side and could turning phrases and heads herself. She said
"You must always be yourself, no matter the price. It is the highest form of mortality."
November 24 (1944)
Warholian superstar, muse and trans icon Candy Darling was born #OTD. She inspired lyrics to Walk on the Wild Side and could turning phrases and heads herself. She said
"You must always be yourself, no matter the price. It is the highest form of mortality."
Reposted by Andy Williams
Why is the priority of the economy not to house the homeless and ensure everyone has good healthcare?
November 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Why is the priority of the economy not to house the homeless and ensure everyone has good healthcare?
Reposted by Andy Williams
Reposted by Andy Williams
Neo-conservatism, which now dominates on both sides of the Atlantic, is an exercise in concluding "this is an unknowable mystery" in response to extremely well-understood events.
Over at the Daily Telegraph, they're scratching their heads as to why the former mining and steel producinv city of Gliwice in Poland is now 45% more prosperous than Darlington... and why it has new shiny infrastructure... without mentioning EU funds for urban and regional development...
November 24, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Neo-conservatism, which now dominates on both sides of the Atlantic, is an exercise in concluding "this is an unknowable mystery" in response to extremely well-understood events.
Reposted by Andy Williams
I spent October traveling to schools throughout the South talking to students about American history. What I found were young people who understand we can tell a story that includes both the positive and the negative. As one 8th grader in Memphis said, “Doesn’t seem that hard, just say both things.”
Tell Students the Truth About American History
We owe it to Americans of all ages to be honest about the country’s past, including its contradictions.
www.theatlantic.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I spent October traveling to schools throughout the South talking to students about American history. What I found were young people who understand we can tell a story that includes both the positive and the negative. As one 8th grader in Memphis said, “Doesn’t seem that hard, just say both things.”
Reposted by Andy Williams
Super important this
New in PN: @mattgertz.bsky.social on the Orbanization of the press
"Everyone just accepts that of course the FCC will only allow a merger if it goes to a person that Trump wants to own it. That’s a very precipitous decline in our broad public assumptions of how govt power is supposed to be wielded"
"Everyone just accepts that of course the FCC will only allow a merger if it goes to a person that Trump wants to own it. That’s a very precipitous decline in our broad public assumptions of how govt power is supposed to be wielded"
The Orbanization of the American press
"The really unnerving thing is Trump using state power to influence who a company gets sold to," Matt Gertz tells us.
www.publicnotice.co
November 22, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Super important this
Reposted by Andy Williams
George Monbiot on @boldpolitics.bsky.social ‘democracy is a problem capital is trying to solve (and propaganda is a very effective way of doing that)’.
Ooof.
open.spotify.com/episode/6fRL...
Ooof.
open.spotify.com/episode/6fRL...
How To Platform Socialist Ideas Through Billionaire Owned Channels | George Monbiot | Zack Polanski
open.spotify.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:23 PM
George Monbiot on @boldpolitics.bsky.social ‘democracy is a problem capital is trying to solve (and propaganda is a very effective way of doing that)’.
Ooof.
open.spotify.com/episode/6fRL...
Ooof.
open.spotify.com/episode/6fRL...
Reposted by Andy Williams
Interesting. Wonder what it is for media? Often at media events I’m the only state school educated person there (I had a bloody excellent education, btw. Zero complaints).
November 20, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Interesting. Wonder what it is for media? Often at media events I’m the only state school educated person there (I had a bloody excellent education, btw. Zero complaints).
Reposted by Andy Williams
NEW: If you have *any* interest in the Nathan Gill story, you need to look at this.
We’ve put all the dates into a timeline & it’s incredibly revealing.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
We’ve put all the dates into a timeline & it’s incredibly revealing.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
Reform UK and Russian bribes: a Nathan Gill timeline
As Reform’s former leader in Wales is sentenced to ten and a half years for taking bribes from a pro-Russian actor, here's a chronology of his actions and the wider context of Putin, Ukraine and Brexi...
www.thenerve.news
November 22, 2025 at 1:55 PM
NEW: If you have *any* interest in the Nathan Gill story, you need to look at this.
We’ve put all the dates into a timeline & it’s incredibly revealing.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
We’ve put all the dates into a timeline & it’s incredibly revealing.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
Reposted by Andy Williams
"I somehow fell and landed directly on a ‘send mass-redundancy email’ button", said HR Director at University of Derby
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
University of Derby apologises for redundancy email blunder
Several staff members received confirmation of redundancy applications when they had not applied.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 22, 2025 at 3:09 PM
"I somehow fell and landed directly on a ‘send mass-redundancy email’ button", said HR Director at University of Derby
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Andy Williams
Learning About Propaganda and Disinformation Is More Critical Than Ever... Did you know... On Facebook, Insta and Threads this year Meta removed fact-checkers, dramatically reducing content moderation, and promising to recommend more political content www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Meta to get rid of factcheckers and recommend more political content
Mark Zuckerberg says company will ‘dramatically reduce censorship’ across Facebook, Instagram and Threads
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Learning About Propaganda and Disinformation Is More Critical Than Ever... Did you know... On Facebook, Insta and Threads this year Meta removed fact-checkers, dramatically reducing content moderation, and promising to recommend more political content www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Andy Williams
I mean, why should toddlers be excluded from the AI extractionist project?
So much $ thrown at AI booster academics, meanwhile those critiquing AI are institutionally alienated and must pin hopes in funding competitions that maybe one critical study will be tokenized as an alternative viewpoint.
So much $ thrown at AI booster academics, meanwhile those critiquing AI are institutionally alienated and must pin hopes in funding competitions that maybe one critical study will be tokenized as an alternative viewpoint.
“This study is trying to understand how we can leverage AI and machine-learning principles to improve recognition for toddlers and preschoolers.”
Canadian researchers look into how AI can better understand toddler talk like 'doodidees' | CBC News
Two researchers at Western University in London, Ont., are studying how to improve the way artificial intelligence understands toddlers' speaking patterns. They're recruiting preschool-age children to...
www.cbc.ca
November 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
I mean, why should toddlers be excluded from the AI extractionist project?
So much $ thrown at AI booster academics, meanwhile those critiquing AI are institutionally alienated and must pin hopes in funding competitions that maybe one critical study will be tokenized as an alternative viewpoint.
So much $ thrown at AI booster academics, meanwhile those critiquing AI are institutionally alienated and must pin hopes in funding competitions that maybe one critical study will be tokenized as an alternative viewpoint.